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Letters to the Editor: Hotel Shangri-La, Daniel Gordis, Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project

In Jonah Lowenfeld\'s article (\"Young Jews Party for a Cause…\" Aug. 24) it is disappointing that the unnamed \"legal experts\" apparently failed to have any knowledge of the California Court of Appeal\'s precedent-setting decision in Pines v. Tomson (1984), which held the Unruh Act applicable to protect Jews who had been victimized on the basis of their religion by any and \"all business establishments of any kind whatsoever.\"
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August 29, 2012

Legal Precedent Set Before Discrimination Suit Against Hotel Shangri-La

In Jonah Lowenfeld’s article (“Young Jews Party for a Cause…” Aug. 24) it is disappointing that the unnamed “legal experts” apparently failed to have any knowledge of the California Court of Appeal’s precedent-setting decision in Pines v. Tomson (1984), which held the Unruh Act applicable to protect Jews who had been victimized on the basis of their religion by any and “all business establishments of any kind whatsoever.”

In Pines, a business enterprise calling itself the Christian Yellow Pages (CYP) refused to accept commercial advertisements from those who failed or refused to affirm an oath that they “accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.” As lead co-counsel with Michael B. Weisz, along with lawyers from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), we represented two Jewish businessmen and the ADL in a successful claim of religious discrimination against the CYP after it refused to accept a commercial advertisement from our clients for the sale of imported art tiles that were used by various church groups in fundraising events because, as Jews, our clients would not affirm CYP’s required religious oath. Our lawsuit, brought under the same provisions of the Unruh Act as those at issue in the Shangri-La case, resulted in a judgment for the plaintiffs, a permanent injunction in their favor prohibiting CYP’s discriminatory religious conduct, and a monetary award that ultimately led to CYP’s demise.

Richard A. Weisz
Klein & Weisz, Attorneys at Law


American Jews and Israel

It is true that we all, young and old, resonate with an Israel that “strives toward its ideal state” (“Fear and Daniel Gordis,” Aug. 24). As Rob Eshman wrote, young can give heart and body to this cause, but there is no room for passivity by we elders. It’s no help to sit home and wring our hands as we cry over actions by Israeli politicians that are so damaging to our visions of that “ideal state.” All of us who care about Israel are in that battle, and we should join with those activists in the United States and Israel who believe that the Israel of our dreams can be reached. It is up to each of us, young and old, to pick our spot, whether it be the New Israel Fund or other dynamic groups, and commit our physical and economic resources to this struggle.

Dick Gunther
via e-mail


Throwing the Textbook at Dennis Prager

There he goes again (“Lying for the Cause,” Aug. 24). Dennis Prager distorts the facts while extolling the importance of truth.

Without providing any support whatsoever, he accuses “progressives in California’s legislature” of abandoning “historical truth” by passing laws allotting “a certain amount of space” in history textbooks to “blacks, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered.”

The real truth is that for many years existing law has required schools to teach about European Americans, entrepreneurs, labor, women, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans and American Indians, and prescribed specific lessons, for example, on the Irish potato famine, the Holocaust and other topics. In 2011, California wisely added the contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons to the social studies curriculum. 

“History should be honest,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in signing the new amendment. “This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books.”

Stephen F. Rohde
Los Angeles


Grateful for Article Honoring Children of the Holocaust

We are deeply grateful to The Jewish Journal and to all involved for the beautiful piece you published about Trevor Goodman, Daniel Lerner and his brother, Paul, and Remember Us: The Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project (“Remembering Children Who Perished, One by One,” Aug. 24).

Ryan Torok did incredible diligence and covered Daniel’s visit with thought and care. The result is a tribute to your newspaper, to this meaningful event and to our work at Remember Us.

We have received countless calls and e-mails from all over the country appreciating the depth and quality of this article and the important story it tells. There is no question that The Jewish Journal serves the Jewish community by connecting us communally through the unique individual stories we each have to tell.

Samara Hutman
Executive Director
Remember Us


Rabbi Finds Support Amid His Congregation

Many members of Congregation Ner Tamid (CNT) are surprised and saddened at the “allegations” against Rabbi Isaac Jeret cited in the article, “Rabbi’s Use of Discretionary Funds Spurs New Policies” (Aug. 17).

What a joy it was year after year to host Israeli soldiers at CNT during the High Holidays. Rabbi Jeret inspired a large number of congregants to attend the Washington AIPAC conference year after year. His leadership role in the Friends of the IDF and involvement with AIPAC were a reflection of his love for the Jewish state.

CNT became a nationally recognized synagogue as a consequence of Rabbi Jeret’s total commitment to the well being of the Jewish people. Under his leadership, the counsel general of Israel, Israeli leaders, public figures, politicians, clergy, AIPAC officials and others regularly visited CNT and dialogued with Rabbi Jeret.

Rabbi Jeret, with his beautiful voice, also touched the hearts of many at services. His adult education courses exhibited his brilliant scholarship. He married us, buried us, conducted bar and bat mitzvah services, and supported our children and seniors. Our rabbi was also a great fundraiser for the synagogue and for the causes he supported.

Rabbi Jeret did all of this day after day, year after year, with hardly any time off. Finally, his health seriously deteriorated due to his tireless efforts.

Please look up Isaac Jeret on YouTube and witness his special qualities that continue to serve as an inspiration for many of us.

Michael and Paula Ungar
Rancho Palos Verdes

Amanda Gelb (“Breaking Down Classroom Walls With Resilience Theory” Aug. 10, 2012) gets it right when she says that “cross-pollination” is a key to effective education. In DeLeT, our innovative program to prepare Jewish day school teachers for the next generation, we call this “integration.” We teach beginning teachers how to bring Jewish ideas and Jewish values into all that they teach, and how to use as many modes of learning as possible.

Mia Pardo, one of last year’s DeLeT fellows, who is now teaching at Pressman Academy, developed an innovative approach to teaching first-graders about national symbols by comparing and contrasting America’s and Israel’s flags and symbols. One day, the students became so passionate about the lesson that they spontaneously began interacting with each other as if they were the symbols themselves. They used songs and other aspects of what they were learning in their dramatic renderings. The teacher recorded these improvisations on her iPad, and later two of the students created a movie out of the videos, adding graphics, music, voice-over and still images all on their own during their free time. We look forward each year to seeing how the emerging DeLeT educators find new ways to make Gelb’s idea of cross-pollination a reality in day school classrooms.  For more information about DeLeT, visit huc.edu/delet.

Stacey Barrett
Education Programs Development Associate
Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion


Liberals’ Issues With Israel

David Suissa has it wrong (“Where’s the Tough Love for Obama?” Aug. 24). Liberals who are dismayed by Israel policy of dispossessing Palestinians and blocking all attempts to create an economically viable, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel are not out to criticize Israel. Their target is American policies that promote, sustain and protect Israel’s policies that dispossess Palestinians and block a Palestinian state. Liberals want an end to the $3 billion that the United States gives to the Israeli military each year, 20 percent of Israel’s military budget, which is used to enforce the occupation and threaten to attack Iran. Liberals want the United States to stop vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions such as the February 2011 resolution that condemned Israeli settlements and called for negotiations. Liberals want the United States to recognize that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are stalled due to Israeli intransience, and to support the Palestinian territories’ bid for enhanced U.N. status as a way to change the dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

In summary, liberals push the United States to end its unconditional diplomatic, economic, and military support for Israel, and make that support conditional on real progress toward a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a way to assure security, peace and prosperity for Israeli and Palestinian people.

Jeff Warner

La Habra Heights

In an attempt to show that “liberals” are hypocrites since they feel free to criticize Israel for its own good but won’t ever criticize President Obama, David Suissa creates a straw man and then knocks it down. The straw man is the undefined “liberal” who, in Suissa’s view, criticizes Israel but not Obama. But he doesn’t name even one such person, and prefers to simply generalize about “liberals.” He quotes from an Atlantic article, but that article attacks only liberals who fail to criticize Obama. Nowhere does that article say that those same liberals feel free to criticize Israel. If these “liberals” who criticize Israel but not Obama exist somewhere outside of Suissa’s mind, he has not shown us where to find them.

Joel Grossman
Los Angeles

Where was the tough love for George W. Bush for eight years from Fox, talk radio, Charles Krauthammer, the Weekly Standard and a ton of other publications or in any of Mr. Suissa’s columns?

It’s called partisanship and for better or probably worse that is the tone of much of our public discourse, including Mr. Suissa’s last two columns.

Are the readers going to be subject to these partisan diatribes from now until the election? Does a gratuitous mention of “Jewish values” justify their publication in the Jewish Journal?

Suissa has valuable and insightful perception into the Jewish life of Los Angeles. This polemical material is easily available on talk radio, Fox News, other print media and the Web 24/7. I hope he returns to the area where economists of all stripes would call his “comparative advantage” over those political pundits.

Lawrence Weinman
Los Angeles


In Defense of the JDL

I am troubled by your article about the death of Ari Rubin (“Ari Rubin Suicide Continues Pattern of Violent JDL Deaths,” Aug. 24).

Your he-was-JDL-so-he-had-it-coming approach seems to diminish the work done by his mother, father and Rabbi Kahane.

At a time when Jews are becoming more passive about observing Judaism and supporting Israel, a group like the Jewish Defense League (JDL), despite its size, remains a voice whose message is “Never Again” rather than “So what.”

While Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abe Foxman is correct in saying that the JDL numbers are low, perhaps he needs to look at his own organization. Many of our contacts have been from people whose problems, especially related to anti-Semitism, have been rejected by ADL offices.

JDL or not, a mother lost a son to an untimely and tragic death. Rather than find ways to belittle JDL, perhaps you could have shown a little more compassion. But I guess that doesn’t sell papers.

Sholom ben David
Chicago / Midwest Coordinator
Jewish Defense League


CORRECTIONS

In his column “New Deli” (Aug. 24), Rob Eshman misattributed this quote to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “More than the Jews have kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jews.” The person who said it was Ahad Ha-am.

Dear Ahmadinejad: Let Me Tell You About Cancer” (Aug. 24) lists Iran’s land area as 167,618 square miles. The country’s area is approximately 636,000 square miles.

The My Single Peeps photo of Brandon B. (Aug. 17) was by Malina Saval, not Joshua Plotke.

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